10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Choosing A Career

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself before choosing a career. Everyone has to choose a career at some point, and it’s not a decision to take lightly. There are very important things to consider when choosing a career, and you should take the time to think about them or you could end up making a huge mistake.

What do you want to do with your life? A very, very important question. What you want to do with your life often defines what you choose as a career, and if you aren’t careful and don’t take the time to think about it you could end up miserable for the majority of your life. Take the time to think about what you like to do and what you think you could spend your life doing, and go from there.

What are you good at? What you're good at helps to define what you can do with your life and what career would be good for you. There is no point in having a career in something you don’t like. If you like art, don’t get an office job, do something that requires some artistic talent or has to do with art.

Do you like people? If you don’t like people you probably shouldn't work in a field where you have to deal with them constantly. Think very carefully about how well and how long you can deal with people before you start to lose your temper. The most common, easiest job fields often require a lot of working with people.

Can you work in customer service? Imagine working in a post office. Imagine working in a post office eight hours a day, six days a week. If the very thought makes you want to go postal, you probably shouldn't work in customer service. It takes a very special person to work in customer service, or one who really doesn’t care.

Can you sit still for long periods of time? If you suffer from restless legs syndrome or you tend to doze off or daydream when you have to sit for hours, a cubicle job is not for you. Think very carefully about how you were in high school; if you were always fidgeting and losing focus, you probably shouldn't choose a career that puts you behind a desk most of the time.

Are you willing to spend years in school to learn a certain field? Certain fields, like medicine, law enforcement and law, require advanced degrees and years of schooling to move up the ladder. It takes a lot of dedication and money, which means you’ll be paying back student loans for a while, so make sure it’s the career you really want.

Are you willing to fight for it? Many career fields are highly competitive. You have to be willing to fight for the job. And even with a menial job, you won’t be the only person applying. You have to be motivated and willing to fight for the job you want. If you don’t want to fight for it, you probably don’t want the job.

Where do you want to live? Some jobs are only applicable in certain places. While you should never pick your work just because of where you live or where you want to live, you should take location into consideration. A great job isn’t worth half as much if you're miserable whenever you clock out.

Are you willing to travel? Some jobs require that you travel all over often. Obviously, if you don’t like to travel you can’t take a job or a position that requires you to travel. Some people hate having to drive for hours or they hate airports, while others love them. If you’ve traveled already you know what you prefer. If you haven’t, think carefully and maybe try a trip out just to see.

Where do you want to be in the future? Think about your lifetime goals, what you want to do, where you want to go, whether you want kids and so on. All of this effects and is affected by your career choice, so think carefully.